Originating in the province of Dalarna, Sweden, the Dala Horse (Swedish Dalahäst) is a brightly painted wooden horse that has come to symbolize Sweden as a whole. The fanciful designs on the saddle follow traditional Scandinavian painting techniques from the 1700-1800’s. While the Norwegian term for the style is rosemåling (rose painting), the Swedes have a couple different names for it: Kurbits (gourd), for the stylized squashes and gourds often included in the paintings, and Dalmålning (Dalarna/dale painting).